Column: Article left foul taste in association's mouth

The folks at the Corn Refiners Association are policing references to high-fructose corn syrup. So, somewhere in Washington, D.C., today, I’m betting that a computer search engine is hitting a bingo on this column.

We first ran afoul of that association Wednesday when our Savvy Citizen advised readers about misleading product labels on food. The information in that article was based on Consumer Reports’ research of food labels designed to attract consumers’ eyes and get them to buy products that may — or may not — be healthy for them to eat.

As marketers know, health-conscious consumers are more likely to be drawn by words like “whole grain” or “low calorie” than they are to be attracted to “heart clogging” or “highly fattening.”

So how do consumers know what they’re buying — and eating?

Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association in Washington, D.C., which represents the makers of high fructose corn syrup in the United States, said our Dec. 16 article, “Food for thought: Label tricks and truths,” contained “false and disparaging statements about high-fructose corn syrup.”

One of her objections was this following passage:

“CLAIM — Added nutrients enhance the product.”

“REALITY — You may get a reasonable amount of fiber per serving from products with added fiber, such as Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts, but they often come with such things as high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil.”

Erickson wrote: “High-fructose corn syrup is simply a kind of corn sugar. It has the same number of calories as sugar and is handled the same by the body.”

She then points to the American Medical Association, which stated that, “Because the composition of high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that high-fructose corn syrup contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose.’ (Report 3 of the Council on Science and Public Health A-08, June 2008.)”

She also cites the American Dietetic Association (ADA): “High-fructose corn syrup … is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the bloodstream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”

Erickson said the ADA also noted that “Both sweeteners contain the same number of calories (4 per gram) and consist of about equal parts of fructose and glucose. (Hot Topics, ‘High-Fructose Corn Syrup.’ December 2008.)”

“High-fructose corn syrup has a strong history as a safe ingredient recognized by food manufacturers and the U.S. government,” Erickson writes. “In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration listed high-fructose corn syrup as ‘Generally Recognized as Safe’ (known as GRAS status) for use in food, and reaffirmed that ruling in 1996. (61 Fed. Reg. 43447 (August 23, 1996), 21 C.F.R. 184.1866. Direct food substances affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe; High-Fructose Corn Syrup — Final Rule.)”

She also took issue with a sentence later in the story that mentioned the Food & Drug Administration “doesn’t have an official definition for the term ‘natural,’ although it recently said natural foods should be free of artificial or synthetic substances, including high-fructose corn syrup.”

It’s true that high-fructose corn syrup is not artificial or synthetic and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services doesn’t object to the use of the word “natural” on a product containing high-fructose corn syrup produced by a specific manufacturing process.

However, a product that contains a synthetic fixing agent included in or added to the high-fructose corn syrup would not fit within that department’s policy on “natural.”

In any case, precision in writing is important, so we want to set the record straight.

But let’s not miss the point here: Consumers need to pay attention to what they’re buying.

Truth be told, Americans eat too many sweets.

In fact, at the risk of sounding Scrooge-like during the holidays, everyone could benefit in the state of their physical and financial health by limiting consumption of sugarplums.

Actually, to be precise, everyone would benefit — except for folks who work for the industry that produces all that sweet stuff, natural or otherwise.